Ties of a Promise
by SeungSeiRan
Summary: All he could do was sit back and watch them in awe. Sequel to "Twice as Much".


Author's note: I promised some of my reviewers a sequel so here it is. Inspired by the song 'Can't stop loving you' by Phil Collins. Yes, I'm a sucker for the guy's music. Corny as it is at times. You know the drill; constructive criticism welcomed, flamers stomped underfoot.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

* * *

It was hard to recognize him with the grey trillby and the dark shades. And when he kept his head down, he was more inconspicuous than ever. For the moment, he was another foreigner on the streets of Seoul. The typical blond, blue-eyed type. No problem. He enjoyed the anonymity anyway. There were other things to focus on.

It took some time to navigate through the maze of buildings and people. The multitude of voices, clothes, perfumes, and colognes reminded him of London and Tokyo in a way. Thirty-one minutes later, he thought he'd finally found what he was looking for. The loud yells (_kiais_, as he had learnt they were called) being emitted from the training-hall known locally as a _dojang _confirmed his guess. Exhaling, he began to take the first of many tentative steps towards the entrance. It was like walking in slow-motion yet rushing forward too fast at the same time. His pulse-rate reached a new high as the door was pushed open. A jolt of electricity passed down his spine.

The toddler was adorable by anyone's standards. She looked fair and healthy in a cheery yellow smock with matching slippers. Her hair was jet-black and in a cute side-ponytail. She was dragging a one-eyed teddy-bear which had obviously seen better days. But _her_ eyes were the first thing that grabbed the visitor's attention. They were the same colour as _his_. Their stares met and she narrowed her slanted eyes in suspicion.

"Uh, hi?"

He raised his hand and waved it at her. The universal sign for 'Hello'. Nope, no luck. He tried again.

"Annyeong-haseyo?" _How are you?_ His alien accent and less-than-perfect pronunciation only served to heighten the child's wariness. Pity. That was the only Korean phrase he knew. Apart from a few cuss-words he'd picked up from an old friend…

"Baek, where is she?"

"I thought she was with you?"

The voices in English brought back a flood of memories. Before he could compose himself, they were right in front of him. A brown-haired woman in jeans and a t-shirt standing next to a tall red-haired man in a Taekwondo gi. An older man with graying hair in a ponytail brought up the rear. On catching sight of the blond man, they all froze in their tracks.

She was the first to speak.

"Steve?"

He smiled nervously, "Hey…"

"MAMA!" The little girl cried out with her arms outstretched.

The four adults looked down at her and burst into laughter. The awkwardness was broken.

* * *

"Didn't recognize you at first with that ridiculous hat on."

" Very funny, Hwoarang. It's called a trillby. Or a fedora if you like."

"Like what those detectives from old Hollywood films wear?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Well, I'm sorry Steve. But the truth is you look just like a bad Justin Timberlake impersonator."

"HEY!"

"Stop it, Hwoarang." Scolded Julia. But she was laughing too. It was just like the old times. The three of them riffing and joking on the floor of the sitting-room while an amused Baek watched. She remembered Christie Monteiro dubbing Hwoarang and Steve as 'Julia's Boys'. Julia had looked upon the title with amusement. However, as time passed and revelations were made, it became more apt. They _were_ her boys. Her men. She'd dared to fall in love with one of them. She'd eloped with him and had his child. And now, here was the other one…

She asked him, "So what brings you here, Steve?"

"Can't I drop in on old pals if I feel like it?"

"Honestly?"

"Nah, I heard the local strip-clubs were better than the ones in London."

"STEVE FOX!"

Hwoarang rolled his eyes. "And they call _me_ the sex fiend."

Julia smiled innocently at her husband, "That's not much of an exaggeration either…" Their daughter gurgled in agreement.

The surrealness of the situation was beginning to catch up with Steve. Hwoarang was married. To Julia. They had a kid. Who could have seen this coming?

In any case, it still hurt him like hell.

Not that he had ever admitted it. But she still sensed it.

"Steve, are you okay?"

"I'm alright. Really."

He couldn't read the expression in Hwoarang's eyes.

* * *

The little one's name was Soon-Yi. 'Sunny' was her nickname and general temperament. She could happily babble away in a mixture of English and Korean for hours on end, thus, making her the undisputed darling of the dojang. A fact which she was fully aware of. She was fifteen months old and able to do many things. Unfortunately, sitting still was the one concept she hadn't grasped yet. As a result, she regularly kept her parents and foster grandfather on their toes during her waking hours. It was a tiring job but they missed her when she was asleep in her crib and impatiently waited for the moment she would awake again. She had her father's original jet-black hair and ocher eyes, her mother's nose and full lips, and a smile that was all her own. Understandably, Hwoarang and Baek were besotted with her. And, in a matter of seconds, she had Steve wrapped around her little finger. She had stolen his heart as well as his hat. As far as he was concerned, Sunny could keep both of them. Hwoarang watched with concern as the latter was gnawed on, stretched out, and bent in all possible directions.

"You didn't have to give that to her."

"Come on, she's just playing. Anyway, you yourself said it was a god-awful hat."

Hwoarang raised an eyebrow.

"Since when did you start agreeing with me? Man, you've changed."

Now it was Steve's turn to raise the afore-mentioned.

"Ahem, who's the bloke with the kid here? And one born _in_ wedlock too for that matter." He motioned to the kitchen where Julia had retreated to earlier. There was still washing-up to finish. Baek laughed at the retort as he spoke up.

"I have to admit, Hwoarang, I never expected you to get married without being under the influence of some kind of alcohol."

Hwoarang blushed crimson as a fresh wave of laughter erupted. Even Sunny, who didn't have a clue as to what was going on, screeched with delight.

Baek continued, "You could have at least consulted me before making a commitment."

"We weren't kids, Baek. As I recall, Julia and I were sane, sober, and legal."

"Hear, hear." Added Steve. Baek glared at him.

"You're one to talk, Fox. You helped them!"

"Teve!" Sunny dubbed him before dumping the crushed former trillby onto his lap. Steve wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the sight.

* * *

"Hwoarang?"

"What?" the Korean replied sullenly. He was still irritated from the earlier conversation. Steve cleared his throat.

"When did you grow up?"

Hwoarang gave his friend an odd look before replying, "Everyone grows up, Steve. Just because I'm a month younger than you are doesn't mean I'm your baby brother or something. I'm twenty-four years old so it's natural that I act like one."

"That's not what I meant. I just … when did you know?"

"Know what?"

"Know when you were… ready for all this. I mean, Julia, Sunny, fatherhood – "

"I wasn't ready."

"Then, how – "

Hwoarang held up his index finger. "I'll tell you…"

* * *

_Nine months had amounted to this. The birth had been painful for Julia to endure as well as for Hwoarang to watch. She had almost fractured his wrist when the baby's head had gotten stuck on the way out. And the screams. Hwoarang had never heard anything like it and fervently hoped that this was the last time he ever would. He felt guilty that he had, partially, contributed to Julia's ordeal by getting her pregnant in the first place. That too had been unexpected. The concept of fatherhood had been looming large over his mind. No, he hadn't been ready and he still wasn't. And then,…_

"_Sir, would you like to hold your daughter?"_

_The little pink bundle was placed in his trembling arms. He had never held anything or anyone so small and vulnerable in his entire life. She opened her eyes and he stared at his very own. Hwoarang couldn't remember much after that except that he had started to sob. The tears which had longed to be shed for an eternity were released. The sobs wracked his whole body and heart. He was only faintly aware of Baek patting his back comfortingly._

_He had lain there with his wife and new daughter in bed that night. As he watched them sleep, he wondered how his own birth-parents had had the cowardice to abandon him as a newborn. To survive on his own in a harsh, cruel world. To learn how to live from hand to mouth in the squalid surroundings of an orphanage. To have to learn how to trust and love again._

_He couldn't repeat that cycle._

"And that's how I knew."

Steve smiled gently as they both watched Sunny attempting a cartwheel.

* * *

Steve had encountered many women in his life-time. They had worn mini-skirts, plunging halter-necks, and vertigo-inducing stilettos. Dramatic, eye-catching make-up had completed their ensembles along with an alluring scent of some kind. They had done so to attract his attention. Yet, Julia Chang had achieved what they couldn't in a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. And he never could imagine anyone looking more beautiful than she did in them. She caught him watching her and smiled. He melted.

"You still single, Steve?"

Damn right, he still was. He had been in two 'semi-serious' relationships prior to the visit. They'd both ended due to indifference on his part.

"Yep. For the past year or so."

Her gaze dropped and she averted her face.

"I guess I don't need to ask you why…" she asked softly. He gulped quietly.

"No…"

He remembered that day.

* * *

_Hwoarang lay unconscious on the hospital bed. Steve had never seen so many wires and monitoring devices attached to one person. Jin Kazama had come this close to destroying his rival once and for all. The redhead looked pale from the loss of blood. Baek had spoken to the doctors earlier. The good news was that Hwoarang's injuries weren't crippling or life-threatening. The bad news was that he would remain in a coma for an indefinite period of time. Days, months, possibly even… years. The thought sickened Steve. But not as much as it did Julia._

_That was when he suspected it._

_The three of them had decided to spend the night at the hospital. She had been so quiet. Hwoarang hadn't been the only one in a coma._

_The coup d'grace had come in the early hours of morning._

_Steve had awoken to her voice. She was whispering but he could still make her out._

"_Please wake up. You can't stop fighting. You never stopped fighting! Don't give up…" he heard her voice crack with tears._

"_I… I miss you. I need you. I…"_

_And finally,_

"_I love you, Hwoarang."_

_When dawn broke, she was asleep by his side. And when Hwoarang woke up two days later, she was in his arms crying for joy._

_That was when Steve had realized._

* * *

"I can't stop loving you."

"I know…"

"I mean it." He lifted her chin up that so she faced him. "And I know how you feel about Hwoarang."

God, it hurt.

"I just wanted you to know that I'll always be there for you. I mean that, too. If you, or Hwoarang, or Sunny ever need help… you know who to call."

Her eyes were welling when he let go of her chin. He had looked almost like a little boy when he'd said that.

"You're so sweet, Steve. I hope you find true happiness eventually."

"Thank you, Julia."

* * *

Baek and Hwoarang sat silently together. The master could always tell what was troubling his student.

"He loved her too."

"He still does."

Another pause ensued.

"Do you feel guilty?"

"…Somewhat."

"What you did wasn't wrong, you know."

"Hmm.."

Hwoarang lapsed into silence again. Baek thought about it and then decided to drop the bombshell.

"Would you have done the same thing he did? If the roles had been reversed?"

"If Julia had loved Steve instead?"

"…Yes."

The man formerly known as the Blood Talon took his time. Love was cruel. Love was unfair. Love was the greatest pain. Love was the greatest pleasure. He picked up Sunny.

"Yes. I would."

Instinctively, the little girl laid her head against her father's chest, where his heart was, as he tightened his grip around her.

Baek felt a lump rise in his throat.

* * *

The two rivals stood face to face. Like they had once done a few years ago. Things had changed. The woman they both loved was standing a distance further from them, her child in her arms. Watching them both. The man she loved like a brother and the man she loved with her entire being.

Instead of the cocky smirks they had worn before, they were smiling. Genuinely, as they bowed down to each other.


End file.
